


Their Birth by Sleep

by skyefinal



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Post-KH3D, Pre-KHIII
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 06:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3165281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyefinal/pseuds/skyefinal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe waiting isn't good enough.</p><p>(Or also known as little snippets I think could happen in KHIII.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_[The two who were never suppose to meet]_

\-----

"What are you doing?" The hooded man asked in bemusement. The flash of gold light that told a keyblade had been summoned caught his attention. Not that it was hard to miss the flash as the Dark Margin was true to its name. 

In one hand, his companion in the dark held the keyblade, it glowed a soft light. It highlighted the outline of the weapon. In the other hand, a blue glass-stained charm also glowed the same light. It flashed brightly and a beam of light shot out towards the horizon. 

 _"It's a Wayfinder charm," the woman said fondly, laughing at the end. "I made three for my friends and I. Although I didn't use Thalassa Shells since we didn't have any at our homeland."_  

He looked on as his companion strolled towards the water, knelt down and let the dark waters claim Master Keeper.

"Surviving here will be harder without your keyblade." He commented.

She chuckled, stretching as she watched her master's memento float away. "You survived here twice without one, I think I can manage."

"True, but what was the purpose of letting it float away?"

The female held up her charm, lifting it up not unlike the way she did when she proudly told her friends what spell she casted on it. The light was gone, but she had a feeling it did exactly what she made it for. The moon's light glinted off the sliver into blue eyes. 

_"An unbreakable connection."_

"Maybe waiting isn't good enough." She responded, tucking a stray strand away from her eyes. "And I have a feeling that they don't want to wait any longer either."

\-----

_[And the three who will start the awakening]_

\-----

"What's that?"

Sora turned around at Riku's voice. Behind him was Kairi, both looking puzzled at what Sora was holding. The King had granted the Destiny Islands trio a small break back to their home world before their duties. Sora would be travelling with Donald and Goofy to find other Guardians of Light while Riku would be journeying with Mickey to find his lost friends. Kairi would be left with Yen Sid to be trained on how to wield the keyblade with Lea. 

"I dunno, it was just on the beach when I came here."

The trio examined the mysterious keyblade. It was longer than Way to Dawn, Kingdom Key, or Destiny's Embrace. The guard of the keyblade was box-like, the keychain looking like a fusion of a heart and a cross, and the key teeth was in an 'E'-shape.Sora passed it on to Riku to examine. "Do you know any other wielders that used this keyblade?"

"No, I haven't seen any other wielders except for us and the King." Riku replied. "And…well, another a long time ago but he didn't use this one."

"Don't forget about Lea." Kairi laughed as she reached for the keyblade. She had to shield her eyes as once she touched it, a bright light erupted from the keyblade and her necklace. Images flashed into her mind. A brown haired man wielding a keyblade shielding a blonde boy, a castle being torn down by violent winds, a blue-haired woman carrying the same blonde boy, but this time sleeping, into the destroyed castle. She clutched her head as Sora and Riku urgently asked her what was wrong.

_"Maybe waiting isn't good enough."_

She knew that woman. But from where…?

_In her small, stubby hands she held out a bouquet of flowers._

_A soft smile, a magic spell, a metallic-blue keyblade._

_"My name's Kairi! Nice to meet you!"_

_"Nice to meet you too, I'm-"_

"Aqua." Kairi whispered. Light surrounded the tip of the keyblade and Kairi lifted it to shoot out towards the water. A portal opened, beckoning her to enter. 

"Kairi, are you okay?" Sora and Riku were hovering around her, looking so concerned that it made her laugh.

"Sorry," She giggled when she noticed the two looked put-off. "Your faces just looked funny."

"Excuse us for being worried!" Sora crossed his arms, trying to look stern but his lips twitched in amusement.

Riku laughed, "Right. You alright though?"

"Yeah." Kairi turned to the portal. "I think…there's someone I need to help over there. I knew her when I was still on Radiant Garden."  

"You can't go there!" Sora exclaimed. "It's too dangerous!"

Kairi put her hands on her hips, glaring at Sora. "You think I can't handle it?"

"Er. Well…"

"What Sora means," Riku interjected, elbowing Sora. "It's better for all three of us to go. For safety reasons, you know since we _were_ about to head out to fight against Xehanort and you are a Princess of Heart." 

Kairi glared at Sora for a few more seconds to watch him squirm before nodding at Riku's logic. "Let's leave a note for the King and the others in case they come looking for us and then we'll enter the portal."

\-----

_[3]_

\-----

"We're here again."

The three exited the portal and onto the sandy beach of the Dark Margin. 

"We wandered here after defeating Xemnas." Riku explained to Kairi. "Then your letter in the bottle came here and a door to light appeared. That's how we got home."

"I'm glad I sent that bottle out that day then." Kairi said. She scanned her surroundings, no sign of anyone. 

Suddenly, a roar was heard across the area.

"Over there!" Sora shouted. He dashed forwards with Riku and Kairi behind him.

The three fought against neoshadows, they were fiercer than the ones Sora and Riku remembered before. Probably because they were in the realm of darkness, they were stronger here. Kairi was glad she came with them, she was a bit miffed that Sora thought she couldn't handle herself alone, but Kairi only became a keyblade wielder a year ago and wasn't able to summon Destiny's Embrace by will until a few weeks ago. 

Basically Kairi's an amateur compared to Sora and Riku.

But she'll catch up.

The young keybladers trekked on until they reached a wide clearing. They saw a a blue-haired woman firing blizzard spells against a gigantic Heartless. It dodged on four legs, menacing claws slashed at the woman who created a barrier. The Heartless kept attacking at the barrier where cracks started to appear.

"It's Ansem! She's trying to protect him!" Riku pointed, recognizing the figure laying prone on the ground behind the woman. 

"We got to help her!" Kairi shouted, running towards the monster, keyblade in hand.

"Thunder!" Sora casted the magic spell to catch the monster's attention. Seeing it was caught off guard, Kairi slashed at it, hitting its arms while Riku attacked its head. Sora rushed towards the woman and Ansem while casting Cura on both of them. As he got closer, a memory surfaced into his mind when he saw the woman. 

_"Just like now, be by his side and help him. It's a job only you can do Sora."_

"It's you…" Sora muttered, he remembered during his Mark of Mastery Exam right before he fell into darkness a time when an outsider visited the play island. The sun setting and a pretty lady looking down at him and Riku. Sora shook his head. "We can talk later, quick! Take Ansem and hide, we'll take care of this!" He dashed off before he could listen to her protests.

Sora joined Riku and Kairi, he stared up at the monster in front of them and took a deep breath. 

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never thought I would do a canon-ish post-KH3D fic. I played the series as a kid and I didn't understand the who the f is Xehanort until I finished BBS (I'm a slow player). 
> 
> There are references of dialogue from the KH series, modified from the English lines and one line was translated from the Japanese dialogue. 
> 
> I probably will add more snippets into this, can't wait for KHIII! (I just want to see the Wayfinder trio happy ;_;)
> 
> un-beta'ed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More snippets and the reappearance of Dark Hide. 
> 
> Unbeta'ed

_[The greater the light, the greater the shadow]_

_\-----_

This Heartless was strong. 

Sora dodged roll out of the way, keeping track of where Riku and Kairi were. The monster roared and vanished back into the shadows. Riku cursed out loud, a gash on his arm where the dog-like Heartless had slashed at him. Kairi started to gather the beginnings of a Cure spell but Riku waved her off.

"It's just a scratch." Sora dashed towards them and the three keybladers put their backs together, trying to locate where the Heartless was hiding in the shadows. The monster's body was hidden but it's eyes glowed red in the dark but it was too quick to fire a spell to slow it down.

"It's moving too fast for us to track!" Kairi exclaimed, trying to follow the Heartless's movements.

"It's gotta stop at one point," Sora warned, "That's when we'll get it!"

"Above us!" Riku snapped out, pushing Sora and Kairi out of the way and throwing up a Dark Barrier. The gigantic Heartless crashed into the barrier, knocking Riku off his feet. Enraged, the Heartless roared and charged at Riku who was stilled dazed from the attack.

"Riku!" Sora and Kairi rushed towards their fallen friend, hoping to reach him on time.

"Drift!" Sora felt the heaviness of the magnetic spell flash past him and Kairi, reaching the monster and causing it to float upwards. Aqua had casted the spell, grabbing Riku and jumping past the monster while hitting it with a barrier to protect her and Riku when it tried to bite them . She raised a hand sparking with electricity, "Thunder!" 

As Sora launched himself at the monster to land several hits, he had to mentally gape at the sheer magical prowess of the older keyblader. Sora remembered his lessons from Merlin about magic, the more adept one was with magic, the larger the range. Aqua had casted the magnetic spell nearly 10 meters away from the monster! 

Sora struck the Heartless a few times before it hid back into the darkness. He took this time to rush back to the group, eyes scanning for any injuries on his friends. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm fine." Riku said, standing up and summoning Way to Dawn in his hands again. "We got a bigger problem to worry about."

Kairi faced Aqua and handed over the larger keyblade again, "Here, this is yours right?"

Aqua smiled and held Master Keeper up. "Yes, thank you. It's a bit harder casting spells without a medium. You might want to duck." With that warning, Aqua raised Master Keeper where a large, fiery ball formed at the tip. Sora yelped at the heat while Kairi and Riku dragged him down. "Fire!"

From the original fire ball, multiple fire spheres blasted out and shot out. Like missiles, they homed-in towards the monster making it yell out in pain. "Now!" Aqua commanded, glowing an ethereal white. Sora, Riku, and Kairi sped towards the monster, slashing it as many times as they could in hopes to end this fight.

Kairi wasn't sure if they were inflicting any damage compared to Aqua.

Because she was _teleporting_ everywhere and slicing the Heartless with such grace that it made the three of them looking like bumbling savages that never held a keyblade ever in their life. 

"Take this!" Images of Aqua flashed before their eyes, each one pinning the monster down with spears of the same ethereal light. When the Heartless was completed pinned down by a circle of light spears, Aqua flashed upwards and struck the monster down. It gave a final cry before finally vanishing into dark wisps.

"Whoa…" Sora said in wonder, mouth opened.

\-----

_[The dancing waters that forms bonds]_

\-----

"That was reckless of you three." Aqua said sternly, dismissing Master Keeper as she scolded the younger teenagers. 

"We couldn't just leave you alone." Sora protested. "That Heartless was huge!"

"Heartless… so that's what they're called." Aqua muttered. "I was right, they weren't the Unversed."

"Unversed?" Kairi asked.

"Let's talk later," Aqua cautioned, walking to where she hid her friend. "These beings are attracted to light and with you three here they're bound to come again."

"Wise Ansem!" Riku knelt down to the elderly man. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine, Aqua protected me from any harm." The blond man chuckled, waving off Riku's concern. "However, I fear that I do not recall the name that you have called me. Is that my true name?"

Riku blinked. "Yes, you are Ansem the Wise. A researcher and a dear friend to King Mickey."

"The name rings familiar," Ansem murmured, he quickly stood and headed towards the Dark Margin. "We must make haste, lest those monsters appear again." 

"Okay." The keybladers followed Ansem towards the shore.

"Oh." Aqua gasped suddenly. Everyone turned their heads to her. Aqua scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed. "I should've said this first before scolding you."

"What?" Sora asked with his hands behind his head. He tilted his head when Aqua gave him a nostalgic smile. Aqua merely gave a small chuckle and gazed warmly at the three keybladers. 

"Thank you for coming to get us…and it's good to see you three again."

\-----

_[And so the plans begin with their awakening]_

\-----

"Master Yen Sid!" Mickey stood before his master once again, seeking his advice. "It's been three days and they still haven't returned!"

The ancient sorcerer leaned back on his chair, contemplating how to answer the king. "It is worrisome how the three of them left without a word. But if what Kairi wrote in her note is true, I do not believe they are in the hands of Xehanort or his vessels."

"How do you know for certain?"

"Because the keyblade she described would not be in the hands of Xehanort. It would in the hands of Master Eraqus's successor." 

Mickey gasped, "You mean-!"

A bright light cut off Mickey's sentence, blinding the two. Several thuds were heard and then groans.

"Ow Sora! You need to lay off the dessert!"

"Hey! What do you mean by that!"

"Riku, your elbow-!"

"Sorry Kairi!"

In front of Mickey were Sora, Riku, and Kairi who were laying in a heap, a mess of limbs and bodies. Beside them were two familiar people that made his heart jump in joy.

"Aqua! Wise Ansem!" Mickey's joyous shout made the three squabbling friends halt in their fight. 

Aqua beamed back. "Mickey! It's been far too long!" She hugged Mickey. The king turned around, lending a helping hand to the unsteady Ansem.

"Ansem! I thought you were gone after trying to code Kingdom Hearts back in the World That Never Was!"

"Mickey…" Ansem said in a daze, he held a hand next to his head. "Forgive me, my memories are still scattered. But, I do feel a sense of familiarity with you."

Mickey smiled, not fazed that his dear friend forgot him. "Your memories may be missing, but your heart doesn't. It's alright, with time your memories might come back!"

"It seems you have endured a lot." Yen Sid added, "My brooms shall lead you to a room nearby to rest." The brooms leaning against the wall vibrated with life and lead Ansem away to recover.

"Now," Mickey stated, turning a disapproving eye to the three youngest keybladers. "You three got a lot of explaining to do."

Sora let out a weak laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First time writing a battle scene, hope I did it okay. Can you guess which command style and spells I used for Aqua?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where everyone gets caught up with everything. un-beta'd.
> 
> Can anyone guess who Yen Sid's friend is?

\-----

_[Reconnect]_

\-----

Mickey trotted down the path outside the Mysterious Tower. This world where Yen Sid resides was always bathed in twilight which made sense to Mickey, it was in-between the realms of light and dark. This was probably how his master was able to monitor the shift and balance of the worlds.

It was also a small island so it didn't take him long to find the other keyblade master. Aqua was sitting on the edge of the land, staring off into the distance. He sat down next to her, a comfortable silence between them.

"What do you think of the new generation of keyblade wielders?" Mickey softly asked, not wanting to be too loud.

"They sure are something," Aqua chuckled. "I expected Riku to come since Terra performed the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, I wasn't expecting Sora and Kairi to come with keyblades in hand as well."

"They're just reckless, that's what they are." Mickey muttered, still feeling a bit sore that the three had left without consultation. "Especially when we're so close to fighting against Master Xehanort and his vessels."

"Right…" Aqua quietly said, she turned to view the eternal sunset. "It's funny. I thought one keyblade should be enough for any friendship. Yet seeing those three children charging in with their own keyblades…it makes me wonder where we went wrong."

"Aqua…"

"It's hard to believe that more than ten years has passed since then." Aqua murmured. "I just kept wandering in the darkness, fighting, hoping that I would get out to wake up Ven and find Terra."

Aqua reached into her pockets, she held her blue Wayfinder charm. She traced the mark of a keyblade master in the middle, "I once said I put a spell on these charms I made for the three of us. An unbreakable bond…I wonder if our bonds will ever be as strong as Sora and the others."

"It is," Mickey said. "You told me that while you were in the dark realm ready to give up, Ven's and Terra's keyblades came to your rescue. I don't know about you, but you must've had pretty strong bonds for that to happen and that doesn't disappear over time."

Aqua smiled, "Thank you Mickey." 

"Heeey!" Sora shouted from the entrance of the tower, cupping his mouth to catch the two's attention. "Your Majesty! Aqua! Yen Sid wants to talk to everyone!"

The two masters walked towards Sora. Aqua raised an eyebrow as she eyed her companion. "You never told me you were a king." 

"Aw shucks, it wasn't important and I wasn't a king yet when I met you."

"Still…"

"It's the same thing as me calling you Master Aqua."

"True. Feels weird calling each other that."

"You're a master!?" Sora exclaimed, shocked. "That's so cool!"

Aqua blinked and giggled, "Oh, exactly like him. You haven't changed at all from the first time I met you Sora."

Sora looked confused, "Don't tell me you met Roxas too?"

"Roxas? I don't believe I have."

"Hey slowpokes," Riku walked down the stairs. "Did you guys forget that Master Yen Sid called for everyone to head up to where he is?"

"Coming Riku!" Sora trotted up to Riku, excitedly waving his hands around. "Riku! Did you know Aqua is a Keyblade Master too!?"

"Yup." Riku said, popping the 'p' loudly and smirking at the younger. "Mickey told me already, I thought you knew already."

Sora pouted, glaring upwards. "No, why didn't anyone tell me?"

Aqua giggled, nostalgia flickering through her eyes. "They remind me of Terra and Ven." She murmured to Mickey. Nostalgia then turned to deep sadness. 

"We'll find them." MIckey vowed, "We'll awaken them from their pain."

\-----

"Thank you for coming at a timely fashion." Yen Sid said from his seat, his tone was slightly reprimanding but the group could see a little twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Much has happened in the past decade and this year, I thought it would be best to discuss everything so nothing is missed."

"Guess we're going to be here for a while." Lea muttered, already leaning against a wall to get comfortable for ours of talk.

"Not necessarily." Yen Sid brought out a small globe. It was made of crystal, but inside flowed a mysterious grey smoke, everyone could feel how the globe had magical properties. "I received this from a dear old friend of mine. He was a powerful wizard and I enjoyed our talks together, but due to circumstances we parted and later I was notified that he had passed away. In his will, he left me this globe."

"What does it do?" Sora asked, peering deep into the globe. "Whoa!"

An image had flickered to the surface of the globe, an elderly man appeared dressed in a long cloak and a small hat. His silver beard almost reached the ground and he wore thin-wired glasses that hid kind and melancholy eyes. 

"Upon touch, you can leave an imprint of your memories and show it to others. Sometimes, things are meant to be seen instead." Yen Sid turned to Aqua. "Why don't we start at the very beginning. I believe it would be beneficial for them to know who Xehanort is and what he did to you three."

Aqua stepped up and placed her hand on the globe. She closed her eyes to focus.

"Master Eraqus and Xehanort were both apprentices under the same master. They parted after they both obtained the Mark of Mastery. Terra and I saw him for the first time when he brought Ven to us."

In the room, something shimmered and two males appeared - holograms. A man with grey-streaked hair wearing a mix of armour and hakama and a scar on his face, the other with a hunched back in leather and a cruel smirk.

Aqua gestured to the scarred-man, a wistful-look settling on her face. "Master Eraqus is on the left. He was deceived and died before I was sent to the Realm of Darkness. The other is Xehanort, the mastermind for wanting to forge the x-blade."

Another shimmer and a keyblade appeared, a fusion of the Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D with an intricate pattern above the hilt, which lead up to a very sharp-looking blade, actually fitting for it's name.

"The x-blade will open a door - one that leads to all worlds. Then, keyblade-bearing warriors, each and everyone of them, will flock to the land where darkness prevails and light expires. The battle for the light within Kingdom Hearts shall begin, and just like the legends says, the Keyblade War will begin." Aqua recited. "Xehanort tried to create his own x-blade by making a heart pure of light and a heart pure of darkness fight each other, but failed."

Two figures appeared from Aqua's mind. A young boy with armour on one shoulder, hands behind his head and smiling in such a familiar way to the Destiny Island trio. The other, face hidden behind a mask and dress in dark black leather, although you couldn't see the person's face, their aura radiated darkness.

Lea made a sound, staring wistfully at the unmasked boy. The resemblance was uncanny, but it wasn't him.

Riku quietly hummed, "It's him…"

"He looks like Roxas." Sora said, a hand absent-mindedly rubbing his chest. It ached for some reason. 

Aqua turned to Riku, "You've met Ven before?"

"No, not really," Riku replied, "It's just…when I dove into Sora's heart to wake him up he was there. He asked me what the most important thing was to me." Kairi smiled and nudged Riku playfully, the older teen nudge her back with an exasperated expression. 

"Ven appeared?" Mickey asked, sharing a look with Yen Sid. "Aqua, please finish your story. Master Yen Sid and I will explain afterwards."

Aqua nodded. "Ven was an apprentice to Xehanort, he was hoping to train Ven to using the darkness as well as light, but Ven didn't. In rage perhaps, Xenahort split the darkness from Ven and from that darkness Vanitas was born. When Ven came to us, he was in a coma-like state but he gradually got better."

Aqua dismissed the image of Vanitas. Replacing the young boy was a tall, muscled man. Brown locks framed his face, he wore clothing similar to Eraqus and lazily smirked.

"Oh."

Aqua smiled at the silver-haired boy, "When I had arrived to your island I sensed that someone had performed the KeyBlade Inheritance Ceremony with you, it seems I was correct in assuming that someone was Terra."

Riku grinned back, "Yeah, made me believe that I wouldn't be a keyblader if I spoke about it."

Aqua chuckled, but quickly became somber again as she continued her story. "After Ven came to us, all three of us trained to take the Mark of Mastery Exam. Terra and I took the exam as Ven was still a bit too young to take it. During the exam, Xehanort tampered with a part of the test. Terra was always more receptive to the darkness, so when Xehanort let darkness into the test it affected him. At the end of the exam, I was the only one who passed. Maybe that's when everything went into shambles."

Aqua told how at the time Xehanort went missing. How Master Eraqus gave orders for Terra and her to find the missing master. How Ven chased after Terra and everyone missing each other while traveling to other worlds. When the three met in Radiant Garden, fought an Unversed, and had a disagreement. Hearing that their master had fallen, learning of Xehanort's plans and how Terra was falling deeper and deeper into the darkness. Reaching the Keyblade Graveyard and fighting, leaving one friend without a heart and the other a vessel to Xehanort and how she fell into the Realm of Darkness.

After she finished her story, silence rang in the room with everyone deep in thought.

Kairi spoke up, "What do you plan on doing now, Master Aqua?"

"Aqua is fine." She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, ruefully smiling at the so-called title, "My plans now? Finding Terra to expel Xehanort out of his body and together we'll go and wake Ven up after finding his heart." She crossed her arms and tilted her head in thought, staring at Sora. "But maybe, waking Ven up is faster."

"So you've noticed," Yen Sid said, stroking his beard. 

Aqua shrugged. "How could I not? I thought they were similar when he was younger, but looking at him now, they are _too_ similar to be a coincidence."

Sora looked at Riku, "I don't get it."

"You are probably the key in waking Ven up, Sora."

Sora's mouth dropped, "Wha-! Riku! You can't just drop a bomb like, like it's nothing like that!"

"Never one to sugar-coat anything."

Sora stabbed a finger into Riku's side, ignoring the yelp and faced the front. "But, do you really think I have Ven's heart?" 

"I think there's a high chance Sora," Mickey piped up. "Especially after Riku said that he saw Ven when he dove into your heart."

"Oh…" Sora stared at the ground, eyebrows furrowed. "Is that why he called me a prison?" 

"Who did?" Kairi asked, but Sora shook his head.

"It's nothing." He turned to Aqua, "I'll help you wake up Ven if you think it'll work."

Aqua smiled, "Thank you. We can leave for my home world in the morning, you all are probably getting tired of hearing me talk."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castle Oblivion and he finally wakes up. Again un-beta'ed.

_\-----_

_[Departure and Oblivion]_

  _\-----_

"Welp, take care all of you!"

MIckey waved the keyblade-wielding group goodbye. Yen Sid stood next to the king and nodded solemnly at the group, he stroked his beard and warned them to watch out for any signs of Xehanort or increasing signs of darkness; the Land of Departure is between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness after all. Since Sora would be accompanying Aqua to wake Ven, naturally Riku and Kairi wanted to come as well. Not wanting to be left out, Lea joined the group. 

"I'll try not to lead the new keybladers astray, Mickey, Master Yen Sid." Aqua jokingly said.

Mickey laughed, "I know you won't. I'm more worried that Lea is going with you."

"Hey!" Lea protested, "What do you mean you're worried about me?"

Kairi hummed and stared Lea up and down, "Maybe…because of your looks?"

Riku and Sora nodded while Aqua and Kairi giggled. 

"What!?"Lea glanced down at his clothes, instead of the Organization coat it was replaced with a burnt orange sleeveless trench coat. Tan cargo pants, a white undershirt and an orange and white checkerboard scarf completed the look. 

"You all suck. My fashion is hip and so in, got it memorized?"

"You saying that makes you seem like a grandpa trying to fit in with a group of young people."

Yen Sid shook his head, "If you are quite finished…"

Summoning Master Keeper, Aqua pointed towards the train tracks. With a 'click' and a twist of the keyblade as if opening a door, the path to her home world was revealed. Lowering her late master's keyblade, Aqua sighed and put her hand against her pocket where she kept her Wayfinder charm. Yen Sid patted her shoulder, understanding her slight pause and walked back to the tower. He had a lot of work to locate the other keyblade warriors and figure out when Xehanort will strike. 

"Aqua?" Kairi looked concerned, the boys had already headed towards the portal and she was the only one who hadn't moved at all.

Aqua shook her head and smiled, gesturing for Kairi to pass through the portal. "It's nothing, I was just lost in my thoughts. Let's go."

\-----

"This is-!"

Shaking off the feeling of being transported to another location, Aqua opened her eyes to a sight she hadn't seen in over a decade. Sora, Riku, and Lea stood in front of the ominous castle with shocked and grim faces.

"Aqua's home is Castle Oblivion?" Sora said out loud in disbelief. He had imagined Aqua's home world to not be so…dark. It didn't seem fitting for the Keyblade Master's personality. 

"I wasn't aware you three had been here before." Aqua lead the group to the castle gates. It eerily opened by itself once Aqua got close. Out of the corner of her eye she saw how tense the boys were, Sora had almost got a death grip on Riku and Kairi's clothes. She resisted the urge to sigh heavily, her home world used to be so welcoming, what on earth happened to cause those three to be so weary and afraid?

Aqua turned around and give what she thought was a reassuring smile. "Land of Departure wasn't always like this. To protect Ven I needed to transform our home so no one would find him. Master had said that only I would know the route and others would be 'lost in oblivion'."

Sora nervously chuckled, "Well, if Aqua knows the way then it should be fine."

"I'm sorry my home world has harmed you in the past."

Lea waved a hand. "It wasn't your fault. It was Organization XIII that made this place out first headquarters. It was kind of creepy in the past because all the new members got lost, but Xemnas was able to navigate around without a problem." Lea scratched his head, "But he always sent me to find one room, never could find it in the end. Heard from Xigbar that Xemnas built a complimentary room as a replacement. Sometimes from outside he could be heard talking to someone, but no one but Xenmas came out of that room apparently."

Aqua stiffened while listening to Lea's story but relaxed. Ven had been so close to being found by Organization XIII, but hadn't in the end. Hope slowly bloomed within Aqua, if Xemnas had been looking for Ven and even built a room…maybe Terra was still alive.  Aqua shook her head, there was no time to dwell on it, if by chance there was nothing left of Terra in Xehanort...

She turned around, "Let's go. Ven has been waiting far too long."

Aqua smiled as she saw that Kairi and Riku had linked hands with Sora instead of the death grip on their clothes. The shorter red-head had also linked arms with Lea so he wouldn't feel left out, it was amusing to see the ex-Organization XIII member flustered. 

Walking through out the winding and twisting corridors of the castle made Aqua nostalgic. She didn't see the endless white walls, but saw the familiar tan walls of when she was training under Eraqus. She saw the location where she and Terra had hidden from Eraqus when they accidentally ate their master's favourite pastry, he was oddly protective of a 'meat bun'. She saw where the two had met Ven for the first time with Xehanort, where the three would meet after training to chill and just relax, and where all four of them had celebrate everyone's birthdays throughout the years.

How she missed those innocent times.

Before Aqua realized it, she had reached the door to where she hid Ven. She raised a hand to open the door, but a gloved hand was there already. 

"Sora?" Riku murmured in concern, Kairi had her hands clasped in front of her chest. Sora had let go of their hands anddragged himself over to the door like he was in a trance. 

Eyes half-lidded, Sora pushed the door opened and muttered, "He's here. Waiting." Without another word he entered the room.

Without a pause, as the others stood back to watch her and Sora, she walked up to the throne where Ven slept. She took in how Ven looked a bit older, but still retained his baby-face, but he had definitely grown in height as his arms and legs were lankier than she remembered. She smiled as she imagined what Ven's reaction would be when he found out that he had grown, his goal had been to beat Aqua and Terra in height. 

"I'm sorry I'm so late, Ven." Aqua whispered, brushing Ven's bangs out of his face. "I didn't bring Terra with me like I promised, but maybe all along he needs both of us to bring him back." 

She looked up and Sora stood slightly swaying, still in a trance-like stance, in front of Ven. Sora smiled as he lifted one hand up to put on his chest, gently pulling away a sphere of light emerge from his body. He kneeled down and with his other hand held Ven's.

"You're not sad anymore," Sora stated, "It's time to wake up."

A bright light erupted from the two, blinding everyone in the room.

\-----

_[One free from the sanctuary]_

\----- 

"Hey."

Sora opened his eyes. He grinned, "Hey to you too." 

Ven smiled back. "Thank you for protecting my heart."

Sora down at the heart he still had in his hands, he held it out for Ven. "No problem! It wasn't a big deal, sorry that I forgot about the fact that I had your heart."

"You were young," Ven reminded. "You probably don't even remember that this is the second time we shared our hearts together."

"Eh!?"

Ven laughed and cradled his heart in his hands. "When I was still training under Xehanort, he wanted to force me to use the power of Darkness. Since I refused, he nearly killed me but managed to split the light and dark within me, creating Vanitas. With half of me missing, I would've died if it wasn't for you offering to share hearts so I wouldn't disappear."

"I did that?" Sora asked, still in disbelief. 

Ven nodded, "Thank you, you gave me a second chance."

Sora sheepishly scratched the back of his head, feeling a blush forming on his face. He toed the glass floor in embarrassment, "Aw shucks, don't worry about it." He looked down and moved his head, it was rare that he would be able to visit another person's mind. He noticed the colours of the WayFinders in the small circles and smiled, of course Terra and Aqua would be represented as the most precious friends for Ven.

"I like your station."

"Thanks." Ven also stared at the glass etchings of Terra and Aqua, a hint of wistfulness leaked into his eyes. He turned to Sora, face serious. "Sora, there's something you should know."

"Hm?"

"Vanitas…he looks like you." Ven explained, "It must have been when you saved me as well. Vanitas was also missing a part of his heart, so you helped to fill it in until he was strong enough to survive without you. I think that's why when you want to use a Drive Form, sometimes you turn into something similar to a Heartless."

"Oh."

Ven nearly face-palmed, "That's all you have to say?"

"When I was undergoing my Mark of Mastery Exam, I think I saw Vanitas,  so I kinda had a feeling that I was linked to darkness. It explains a lot about Anti-Form. " Sora said, "But I can't do anything by worrying. So far I haven't fallen, so it should be alright with everyone with me." 

Ven sighed, "Really, so carefree…but that makes you who you are."

"Exactly!" Sora beamed. "Now come on, you still haven't fully gotten your heart back."

Ven smiled and nodded, he slowly eased his heart back into his chest. A warmth that he didn't know he missed filled his body and his station glowed in response. A light appeared above them, their way out of Ven's mind.

"It's time to wake up."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Just normal life problems getting in the way.

\-----

_[Awakening]_

\-----

Ven slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the bright lights pulsing on the ground and going upwards to the Mark of Mastery. Second was how his body ached, he stretched his arms above his head and let out a small whine at how his bones cracked and popped.

"Gross."

Snapping to full attention, Ven whipped his head at the source of the foreign voice. There was a tall red-head, a girl in a pink dress, a silver-haired teen that had an amused smirk on his face, a brown spiky-headed familiar teen and…

"Aqua!" A gigantic grin broke out on Ven's face. She looked older and more weary, but it was her! He leaped to his feet, hoping to hug Aqua, but his legs were weak from the lack of movement for over a decade and he braced himself for the fall when two arms caught him.

"Oh Ven," Aqua murmured in fond exasperation. She tightened her grip around Ven and leaned her head next to his, Ven was still Ven despite the years passing. She felt tears building up and threatening to spill over, all those years of wondering if he'll ever wake, if she'll ever even see _light_ again…Aqua took a deep breath.

This was real. _Ven_ is real.

Ven returned Aqua's embrace with the same desperation and happiness. After his battle with Vanitas and his heart splintering again once more, he wasn't sure he would recover again. He had hoped, after finding refuge in Sora, that he would but it had taken so _long._

Aqua gently moved Ven so she could see him clearly, she brushed his bangs away and smiled. "Hey there sleepyhead."

Ven pouted, he opened his mouth to say something when he tilted his head in thought and huffed in mock annoyance. "Seriously? I had a growth spurt and I'm still shorter than you?"

Aqua blinked for a second and bursted out into laughter. She pinched Ven's cheek, "You'll always be the shorter one."

"Not to ruin this touching reunion…" The red-head drawled, quirking his eyebrow in bemusement. He never really was good at touching moments like this. Lea wasn't sure if it was because the bling keyblader looked almost exactly like Roxas.

Aqua laughed and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes before introducing everyone. "My apologies. Ven this is Lea, Kairi, Riku and-"

"Sora." Ven cut in, smiling. "Nice to finally meet you in person."

Sora beamed back at Ven, "Hiya."

The group began walking back to the entrance, everyone filling in what Ven had missed while sleeping in the Room of Awakening.

"You think Terra is still there, Aqua?" Ven asked quietly. The lively keyblader had turned somber and silent as everyone recounted their memories from the past years, he had missed a lot. Although he couldn't have helped it, he felt terrible that he wasn't there for Aqua in the darkness or somehow prevented Xehanort frompossessing Terra. Master Eraqus had also fallen as well…although the last memory of his master wasn't pleasant there were many more happier memories to remember of Eraqus.

Aqua side-hugged Ven as she opened the gate to the road outside, "I believe Terra is still there Ven, without a doubt."

"As long as you have your bond, you'll find him." Riku smiled as Sora and Kairi grinned at him. "That's how I was saved."

"Thanks Riku." Ven turned around and looked at the castle before him. The world was no longer bright with pastel colours, but dark and ominous. "You'll change it back, right Aqua?"

"Once we're all together again." Aqua promised.

"Where should we go now?" Kairi asked.

Lea gazed over to Ven, eyes not missing that Ven had a slight sheen of sweat cover his forehead. "I, for one, want to start training before heading back and gathering intel. I still haven't got used to summoning my keyblade yet."

Sora hummed, tilting his head in thought. "You know Axel, if you want to train I know just the guy to help you."

"It's Lea! L-E-A! Got it memorized!?"

"Oops."

Everyone laughed. Sora whistled for Chip and Dale to fly in the Gummi Ship, when they had left from Yen Sid's tower, King Mickey had told Sora he would send the Gummi Ship to Castle Oblivion for an easier return trip. Within a few seconds the colourful ship flew into view, everyone save Aqua and Ven made move to hop on.

"Do you want to hop on, or..?" Aqua trailed off, already knowing the answer to how Ven would travel between worlds. The others paused, turning around to watch what Ven would do, they wondered if Ven would open a corridor of light or somehow get another Gummi Ship to travel.

Ven stretched and summoned his keyblade. He grinned, feeling the need to be extra flashy. "What do you think?"

He threw his keyblade with a flourish and smacked a fist to the armour on his arm. A bright flash of light and Ven stood in front of the others in full armour. Riku flinched and before he could think it, he pushed Sora and Kairi behind him, hand twitching as if to summon Way to the Dawn.

The sky glimmered and a strange-looking skateboard soared down beside Ven. In a sheepish manner, Ven moved his hands beside his head, "Sorry, I forgot you fought a version of my armour. I couldn't keep the darkness from taking over when Sora was about to be possessed at that time."

Riku relaxed from his stance and shook his head, "No, sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way."

"You fought armour before too?" Sora asked Riku.

Aqua and Ven stared at Sora in shock.

"Where did you find armour?"

"What did it look like?"

Sora blinked at the sudden questions. "A portal appeared at Disney Castle. Queen Minnie asked me to check it out and when Goofy, Donald, and I went in there was an armour just like Ven's…except it was taller, more gold and red. We fought in a really rocky place, I somehow won and it sort of just stopped fighting and just knelt down, like it was waiting for someone. When we left, the portal vanished."

Aqua and Ven shared a look. Aqua spoke out loud to collect her thoughts. "When I last saw Terra, we were at Radiant Garden. Sora described what might have been Keyblade Graveyard… why was Terra's armour still there?"

Ven jumped onto his keyblade glider. "We won't know until find more information somehow. For now, let's go train to get Lea and myself back into shape and maybe we can start searching at Radiant Garden."

Lea sighed, "Why is everyone picking on me, I'm in shape! I just can't get the keyblade to appear all the time."

Kairi giggled, "Maybe it really is because of how you look."

"Seriously?"

Riku laughed, crossing his arms and smirking. "We could all benefit from the training, after that we can talk with Tron and the others and see what they can search from Ansem's lab."


End file.
